After E
by Luminatto
Summary: Class E graduates, and everyone heads off to different high schools. Okuda Manami will be alone at her school—or so she thinks, until she sees her classmate on the first day. Karma/Manami
1. Chapter 1: Alone

**Chapter One: Alone**

A soft breeze blew through a row of cherry trees, tugging at the pink blossoms clinging to its branches and scattering the petals. Carried by the wind, they floated and settled on the road, where they were crushed by a horde of feet clad in identical shoes.

Manami eyed the pale petals on the ground as she walked along. Her identical shoes took nervous step after nervous step, taking her in the same direction as all the other shoes. She gulped; the cluster of walking feet had thickened, which meant that she was nearing her destination.

She lifted her head as the feet made a turn, and found herself facing a wide white building. An open gate greeted her, drawing in the crowd. A tall sign read "Kitagawa High School Entrance Ceremony" in vertical black letters, looming with ominous formality as if to inform Manami's stomach that it hadn't flipped over enough.

She shuffled through the gate rather unceremoniously, caught in the flow of people. Despite the crowd milling about, she felt oddly alone. Looking around, she realized it was because almost everyone else had a companion. Returning students had their friends to greet enthusiastically, and new students had their parents with them. Manami's parents had been unable to attend, her father away on a business trip and her mother engaged in an important meeting.

Gradually, she made her way to the auditorium, where she was seated with her classmates-to-be in an orderly fashion. To her right sat a girl with dyed brown hair set in carefully styled curls and makeup applied to perfection. To her left sat a plainer girl by comparison, who was nevertheless sporting prettily manicured nails. Manami furrowed her brows—was nail polish even allowed at this school?

She didn't interact with them at all, and instead let her mind drift into her memories. She felt a twinge in her heart—she missed everyone from class E. It was odd to be alone at a school without them, after all the adventures they'd had together. After middle school, everyone had split and scattered to different high schools. She didn't know where everyone was going, since she hadn't bothered to check. She was fairly sure that Nagisa and Kaede were attending the same school and that a few others had also stayed connected, but she'd somehow drifted off alone. Alone, and very lonely. Manami tugged herself out of her painful thoughts, bringing her attention to the man standing at the podium on the stage.

The entrance ceremony began with a rather stiff welcoming speech from the principal. He looked strict, but that was hardly frightening compared to Asano. Manami let her eyes slide over the row of teachers sitting to the side and began to observe each of them. They appeared to be less severe than the teachers she had seen at Kunugigaoka, though that might have been because they weren't all glaring down their noses at her.

She chuckled softly at the thought, remembering the tough times she and class E had gone through together. And there, the memories were back.

The girls beside her glanced at her, perturbed by her low laughs. She stopped immediately, ducking her head in silent apology, and smiled warmly, albeit awkwardly. A new place meant new friends, and she would have to start from scratch.

The three turned their attention back to the podium, where the principal was finishing his speech. He ended with an attempted poetic metaphor (something to do with cherry blossoms, a very typical topic for the season) then called up a student representative from the senior class.

The senior began his own piece with another cherry blossom metaphor, then launched into a passionate (and very long) welcoming speech.

At this point, Manami mused, the speaker would have been straining every nerve to humiliate class E. The entire school would have been snickering openly, throwing disdainful looks upon them in heaps. Once it would have bothered them, and they would have shrunk in shame. Now, Manami was almost missing the tension in the air as class E clashed with everyone else, and the excitement. The anxiety in her gut had faded to be replaced with a restless stir; the air here was really too calm.

So engrossed was she in her thoughts that she didn't notice the senior representative conclude his speech and step down from the podium. She didn't see the principal take the mic and call out for the individual with the highest test scores among the incoming students. She only caught a vague "A—ne —rma" as the representative was called up, and didn't notice the familiar flicker of red as the student walked up the rightmost aisle toward the stage.

She only snapped out of her reverie when the girls sitting on either side of her squealed excitedly—along with every other female in the auditorium—as the boy stepped up behind the podium. She looked up, bemused and disorientated by the sudden chatter of noise, only to see a very familiar figure and fall into further confusion. A hush fell over everyone as the handsome boy adjusted the mic stand and leaned forward, lazily but gracefully, to speak into it.

He spoke a few brief sentences and ended his speech with no mention of cherry blossoms. Manami could only stare open-mouthed, his voice sliding into her ears through the speakers. Her mind swirled with bewilderment, every thought and memory thrown into disarray by the shock.

She met his gaze and felt the amusement in his eyes wash over her. Her own eyes were, no doubt, expressing every bit of the surprise that was coursing through her in shaky waves.

Akabane Karma stared down at her, the grin on his face calling out to her.

_Hey there._

* * *

This story is set in high school after everything with Korosensei ends. I'll figure out how it ended later, though I'm not sure how much it'll matter to this story.

Please let me know if you find any errors. Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Be warned: I update very slowly.

Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Relief

**Chapter Two: Relief**

Karma stepped down from the stage, grinning cockily. The principal eyed him disapprovingly, but made no comment on the length—or lack thereof—and sharpness of his speech.

Manami sat very quietly as a flurry of whispers broke out once again. She ignored the eager chatter of the girls—_"Hey, isn't he hot?" "I'm gonna aim for him, what about you?" "So totally my type"_—and simply followed her old classmate (not old, not anymore) with a fixed look. He seemed to be meeting her gaze out of the corner of his eye as he walked back to his seat, hands in pockets. She had to consciously remind herself to stop staring and blink before her eyes dried out and began to tear.

Everything else passed very quickly. The principal addressed everyone with a final welcome, asked them to check their class allocations, then announced the conclusion of the ceremony. As one, the entire student body stood up and began to migrate toward the doors.

"Hey, Okuda-san!"

Manami heard her name being called by his voice and turned herself around, swiveling her head to catch sight of him in the crowd. She didn't have to search long, for Karma made his way toward her very quickly. Despite many people's—in particular, girls'—eagerness to introduce themselves and exchange a word with him, they hung back, making space for the handsome red-headed boy who walked with an air of purpose.

Manami grinned as he came closer; relief had taken over her system, relief at seeing a friendly face in a strange place. She was still immensely surprised by his presence at Kitagawa High School—she hadn't heard that he was to attend there, after all—but it had lessened considerably compared to the initial shock she had received. She was also somewhat happy and excited to see him approach her, since it meant that she had someone to talk to. There would be no more of the awkward wallflower act that she had been counting on to ease her way into the group.

"Karma-kun, I didn't know you were coming to Kitagawa High as well!" Karma, having reached her, slipped into place beside her as they followed everyone else out of the auditorium and into the harsh midday sun. It was only April so it wasn't hot at all—on the contrary, a chilly breeze was stirring the air around Manami's bare legs, making them shiver—but the light was unobstructed by any clouds and painful against her eyes. She lifted a hand to shield herself from the glare, then squinted into Karma's face as he gave a reply.

"That's because I didn't tell you. Actually, I didn't tell anyone. It was too much of a pain."

"You should have! I wouldn't have suffered so much then." Manami paused, emphasizing her words with a reproachful silence, then continued, "Anyway, I didn't think you'd come to such a minor school like Kitagawa. You would have gotten in anywhere you wanted with those grades. Why _didn't_ you go to a more prestigious place?"

Karma sneered, frowning slightly. "That would've been boring as hell. Go somewhere like Kunugigaoka's class A? No way."

"Well, I'm glad we're at the same school," Manami admitted. "I thought I was going to be all alone here."

The two arrived at the bulletin board where the class divisions were posted, and slipped their way through the swarming bodies. Everyone was pushing and shoving at each other, struggling to get closer to see the results, but Karma and Manami slipped through easily. Karma deftly navigated the way, using the physical skills acquired from his assassination training to slither between the jostling people, while Manami swiftly followed, her physical prowess significantly inferior to Karma's but nevertheless improved.

In almost no time at all, they found themselves situated right in front of the first year class lists. Before them were nine sheets of paper neatly pinned to the board, each carrying about forty names. Karma lazily ran his eyes over the papers as Manami pushed up her glasses and inspected each list carefully, beginning at Year 1 Class I.

The voices of the students crowding around her drifted into her ears and buzzed about her brain as she let her eyes scan their way down the list slowly, alert for her name (and Karma's). The voices mostly consisted of exclamations of excitement at being placed in the same class as a friend, or groans of disappointment that they weren't (occasionally, there was a groan from someone who had been placed in a class with a person they disliked). But interspersed throughout all of these voices, Manami could hear the whispers of the girls interested in Karma. She had a feeling she'd be hearing a lot of them from now on.

Pulling her eyes away from the middle of Year 1 Class G, she glanced sidelong at Karma to see how he was responding to his newfound popularity.

He wasn't.

Nothing in his demeanor showed any sign that he had even heard the whispered comments—_"He's really hot," "His speech was really cool," "Hottest boy in our year"_—let alone cared what they were saying. Manami couldn't tell if he was acting or not, but he was certainly being unresponsive. The girls were, no doubt, hoping that he would hear them and glance over their way. Too bad for them, Manami thought with mild sympathy, placing her attention back on the Year 1 Class G student list.

"Well, it looks like you're not going to be alone, Okuda-san," Karma said, pointing at the list for Year 1 Class F. Manami followed his finger and read, "Akabane Karma" at the top, then a few lines down, "Okuda Manami."

"Oh," she breathed, her chest filling with relief again. She turned to Karma and took hold of his arm, gripping it tightly in her two hands. "That's good. Really. What a relief."

Karma laughed at her and ruffled her hair with his other hand. "Yeah, yeah," he said, eyes glinting. "That's good."

* * *

Thank you for reading!

Warning: I am planning on filling this story with loads of cute, clichéd shoujo-manga-y moments. If you don't like that, you might become exasperated with _After E_. However, it will progress quite slowly, so the real romantic bits won't come till later.

Many thanks to my mom (who doesn't know I write fanfiction) for providing me with information about Japan and the school system there. I'm sure I haven't portrayed everything perfectly accurately, but I'd like to think that I'm close enough.


	3. Chapter 3: Interest

**Chapter Three: Interest**

Karma cackled inwardly as he followed Manami to their designated classroom. He was in a good mood, very pleased with the turnout of things. What luck, to have Okuda-san at his side once again, ready to provide him with ammo for his pranks! His mind whirred with all the fun she could make possible. Really, high school life was starting to look up.

The two entered the freshman section of the school building and immediately found themselves facing rows upon rows of shelves containing shoes. Manami paused, taken aback by the sheer number of shelves and shoeboxes, but Karma promptly made his way to the row for class F. Slipping off his outdoor shoes, he exchanged them for the indoor ones sitting in the shoebox labeled with his name. Manami hurriedly followed, finding her box near his and tripping about to get her shoes off. Laughing, Karma reached out and steadied her, receiving a miffed "thank you" in turn.

More freshmen began to walk in through the doors, drifting among the shelves. Less talkative than returning students, they nonetheless created enough enough noise to echo in the entranceway. Soon, the hall was crowded with boys and girls changing their shoes and making small talk with their new classmates.

Karma, picking up his name several times in the cacophony of voices, looked up and spotted a pair of blushing girls staring at him. Looking around, he spotted several more. All were eyeing him with a rather predatory interest that made him shiver involuntarily. _Odd,_ he mused, puzzled and slightly concerned, _I shouldn't feel threatened at all. They're only high school girls._ His instincts, however, said otherwise, so Karma gave the girls his darkest grin in hopes that they would be intimidated._  
_

They weren't.

On the contrary, their interest seemed to intensify. The blushes darkened through their makeup, and the glinting of their eyes became more pointed. Karma began to feel the heat of the gazes burn into him uncomfortably—an entirely different sensation from killing intent, which filled him with excited tension. He wasn't used to this type of attention, whatever it was; rather, he preferred to be looked upon with a degree of fear and apprehension. _That_ was good for his ego.

A girl began to approach him, smiling prettily and tossing her head so that her elaborately set hair fell in miraculous curls over her shoulder. Her uniform fitted her perfectly, retaining propriety and wrapping around her curves closely at the same time. The first few buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing an appealing expanse of collarbone but hiding the cleavage. The sleeves of her sweater poked out from her jacket, covering her wrist and exposing long white fingers with polished fingernails. Her skirt was short, accentuating her creamy thighs and long stockinged legs. Her brown eyes, enhanced by eyeliner and mascara, gazed out through clear blue frames that gave her a somewhat intelligent look. Her mouth, opened to speak to Karma, was painted with a shiny but unassuming pale pink gloss that plumped the lips alluringly.

Put shortly, she was a very attractive female. And Karma was looking at none of those attributes.

"I liked your speech," the girl started out, slipping off her shoes next to Karma and placing them in the box two rows down from his. "My name's Sayama Yui. I'm glad we're in the same class, I feel like it'll be really fun."

She peered into his face expectantly, waiting for the conversation to flow, but Karma was looking down at Manami, who was squatting on the ground struggling with her second shoe.

Sayama tried again, a bit flushed from disappointment at her first failure. "You're Akabane Karma, right? What's her name?"

Karma looked up when she indicated at Manami with a flutter of her hand. "She's Okuda Manami," he replied shortly.

"Oh, so how do you know each other?" Yui persisted.

Karma was about to answer, but another girl jumped in. "Is it true that you got full marks on the entrance exam?"

More girls began to crowd around him, emboldened by the first few. Karma was saying, "All but chemistry," when a girl butted in, "Wow! That's so amazing! I'm the opposite, like, I barely passed the exam! Won't you help me study?"

Karma had no time to refuse before he was barraged with an onset of inquiries ranging from the most trivial question to very personal topics. He frowned—why was this happening to him?—and backed into the shelf, away from the probing girls.

He was saved when Manami tugged on his sleeve. "I'm ready," she murmured, nervously averting her eyes from the pretty girls, some of whom eyed her with suspicion and dislike. The distasteful looks increased when Karma slung his arm around Manami's shoulders, pressing her against his side.

"Well, sorry everyone, I gotta go. See you later."

Karma turned away with Manami in tow and left the girls trailing behind. He sighed as he leaned on the shorter girl, and huffed out loud, "What the hell was that?"

Manami looked up at him from under his arm, her expression a bit incredulous. "Don't you know? You're very popular with the girls. They think you're the hottest guy in our year."

Karma snorted, but smirked. "Oh, really?"

Manami nodded. "Your speech also made an impression."

"There was no speech," the boy scoffed.

"That's the point. It was cool."

Karma shrugged, looking satisfied. "Of course it was."

Manami changed the topic then. Coughing slightly, she remarked, "By the way, I think I heard you say that you got full marks in everything but chemistry."

"Yes, that particular subject was a bit difficult. I suppose you aced it."

It was Manami's turn to look satisfied as Karma inclined his head to her in a small salute.

They turned to climb up a flight of stairs onto the second floor, where class F was supposedly located. The hallway they found themselves in was bland and repetitive, like every other part of the school. White walls stretched out on both sides, lined by windows. On the left, the windows looked out onto the sports ground. On the right, they were interspersed with white doors that lead into classrooms.

Manami skipped out from the confines of Karma's arm as they reached the second floor. While this hallway wasn't nearly as full of people as downstairs, she was receiving enough looks to make her feel awkward. Karma was attracting a great deal of attention, which placed her, as his companion, in the limelight as well. The boy in question simply shoved his hands into his pockets, indifferent to his popularity.

Class F was at the far end of the hallway, next to an exit leading to outside stairs. Two sliding doors opened onto the classroom, one by the back and one by the front. Manami lead the way in through the front door, pausing for a moment to survey the room. Karma stepped in behind her and did the same.

They were the first ones to arrive in class F. The desks were lined up neatly, chairs untouched. Every surface was spotless—even the teacher's desk was clear of all objects. Karma pulled out a seat in the far back and dropped into it. Manami took a seat in the very front, six rows ahead. They sat for a while in silence, both of them unwilling to break the calmness pervading the space.

_The calm before the storm,_ Manami thought, as footsteps neared the room.

* * *

Thank you all for reading! Please review!

I never knew how encouraging a nice review was until I started writing, but man, they do wonders for my ego! Thank you djinfiend, Mugi-pyon, XBakaNinGyoX!

Just to let you know, I am correcting the errors in this story as I go along. Don't worry, I won't be changing anything big. It's mostly grammatical stuff and little details.

Loads of love, Luminatto


	4. Chapter 4: Introduction

**Chapter 4: Introduction**

It turned out that the seating order was decided by lots. Manami lost her vantage spot in the front, and Karma was evicted from the much coveted space at the back. Instead, they found themselves situated right in the center, Manami in the middle of the third row and Karma right behind her in the fourth.

"It's a bit like last year, isn't it?" Manami noted as she hooked her bag onto the side of her desk.

"Except I was in the back last year," Karma corrected. He pulled his chair out with a toe and dropped himself into it with a clatter, clearly disgruntled.

Manami was about to offer him some words of consolation when the teacher coughed and they were forced to face the front.

A young man dressed neatly in a dark gray suit stood behind the teacher's desk. Behind him, on the blackboard, was written "Inuoka Tadashi" in neat lettering.

"Good morning, and nice to meet you! I'm Inuoka Tadashi, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for this school year. I'm hoping to get along well with you all! So, in order to get to know each other a bit better, I'd like to do a little self-introduction." He glanced down at the class attendance list, then looked back up, his eyes seeking out Karma. "Akabane-kun, if you could start, please."

There was a sudden rustle of movement as everyone turned and craned their necks to get a look at the boy. Karma crossed his ankles and leaned back in his seat.

"I'm Akabane Karma. Nice to meet you."

Inuoka-sensei tried to hold his smile, but the corner of his mouth twitched into a grimace. "That's nice, Akabane-kun. If everyone else could stand up and tell us a bit more about themselves, like what school you went to before, that would be nicer. Um… Iwatani-kun, your turn."

Iwatani was the glum-looking boy wearing square-rimmed glasses in the seat next to Manami's. He shuffled to his feet, bumping his desk clumsily, and introduced himself in a mumble. Karma did his best to repress a snigger, but it slipped out, prompting Manami to send him a look of disapproval. _That's not nice_, she seemed to be saying with her face.

"I'm Iwatani Kazuya... I went to Shinagawa Middle School. Uh… My favorite subject is science... um... in particular math and physics."

Iwatani shuffled back into his seat, looking moodier than before. Inuoka-sensei flashed him an encouraging grin, then called up the next student, a girl.

Manami felt anxiety bloom and intensify in her stomach as Erisawa Eri stammered her way through a long list of hobbies. She wasn't too worried for herself—or at least, hadn't been—but the poor girl's nervous display was instilling within her with a fear that she would be just as pitiful. (At this thought, she silently apologized to Erisawa Eri.)

"Okuda Manami."

Manami stood quickly, her nerves making her motions erratic. The legs of her chair squeaked against the floor as she pushed it back, the sound echoing conspicuously, and a flurry of snickers broke out. She tried to ignore it, but couldn't prevent a light flush from creeping up her cheeks.

Something shifted behind her, and the laughter stopped abruptly. Manami had an inkling as to what it was, but resisted the urge to glance back. She cleared her throat.

"I'm Okuda Manami. I like science, especially chemistry. I went to Kunugigaoka Middle School before this. I hope to get along well with you all!"

She could see a few girls eyeing her with interest, appraising her critically. No doubt they were those of Karma-kun's fans who had seen them together. Manami sent them a quick smile, hoping to ease some of their animosity, and sat back down, pulling her chair forward with another squeak.

The girls didn't look appeased at all.

* * *

Karma felt a sharp spike of irritation. Before him, amidst a stir of snickers, Manami stood awkwardly, her body rather stiff. She appeared to be putting up an indifferent front, but Karma caught the hunch of her shoulders that gave her away. Her toes scuffed against the dirty wood of the floor, a clear sign of her discomfort. He felt his indignation rise in his throat and sat up straight, glaring at everyone in the classroom.

That shut them up. Pierced by his sharp gaze, everyone quickly and quietly averted their eyes. He settled back, satisfied, and listened to Manami as spoke into the echoing silence. She finished and sat, and the teacher called for the next student.

Karma was yawning, prepared to zone out for the remainder of the class, when Manami twisted around to face him. He blinked in surprise at the big smile on her face. Her lips moved silently, and Karma raised his eyebrows as he read, "Thanks for that."

Karma shrugged as if to say "No problem," and leaned back, closing his eyes. He could feel Manami giving him a disapproving look again, but he ignored the prickle of her stare. He let sleep take him as an eager, energetic boy announced his name loudly, establishing himself as the class clown. His last thought was that high school was looking to be very unentertaining, compared to life in Class E with Korosensei.

* * *

The sound of a bell echoed down the hallway, followed by the sudden bustle and chatter of students being let out. Inuoka-sensei jumped and whipped his head around towards the clock, then fumbled at his wrist for his watch. His mouth dropped open in a silent "oh," and he guiltily faced his class.

"Dismissed," he announced sheepishly, before gathering his things and scurrying out of the room.

Manami stretched her arms up, arching her back. She rolled her neck, tipping her head far enough to catch an upside-down glimpse of Karma's face. His eyes were closed in genuine sleep, his relaxed mouth open just a tiny fraction. Like this, he looked very much like an ordinary, innocent freshman. Manami almost laughed out loud at the hilarity of the mere idea.

Her thoughts were cut off when someone tapped her shoulder, making her jerk upright. Her neck cracked loudly at the movement, and she winced and brought a hand up to rub the pain away. She raised her head gingerly to see a girl standing over her desk and another crowd approaching more slowly.

"Sorry about that," the girl said, not sounding sorry at all.

"It's okay, I'm fine," Manami reassured. "So, uh..."

"I'm Kurobe Rika. These girls wanted to know how you know Akabane-kun, and what your relationship is."

Kurobe shoved a thumb over her shoulder at the girls standing behind her, anxiously waiting for the answer. They scrutinized Manami with blatant curiosity that bordered on suspicion.

"Ah, um, we're just friends," Manami said in a hurry. "Classmates, from middle school."

Kurobe turned to face the girls. "There you go. See? All you have to do is _ask_." Rolling her eyes, she stalked out of the classroom, leaving Manami to deal with the crowd alone.

The girls closed in, a few migrating to Karma's desk. "Is that really it? Do you know if he has a girlfriend?"

Manami nodded, then shook her head. "Yes, we're just friends, and I don't know if he has a girlfriend. I don't think so. He didn't in middle school."

She didn't mention that Karma was more interested in manipulating people than dating them.

At her answer, most of the group left Manami's desk to stand around Karma's. He was still asleep, blissfully ignorant to the chaos he was causing. A few boys were hanging around too, no doubt attracted by his cool attitude. A girl who Manami recognized as Sayama perched herself on the edge of his desk and leaned in. A few people gasped as her lips neared his, but she only blew on his face softly and tapped his nose.

"Um, Akabane-kun? Class is over."

* * *

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story, and thank you for reviewing. I am really grateful for every word you give me, and really sorry that I can only give you so few.

It just made my life when I read the nice things you've written in your reviews. I am so, so sorry for being a slow writer, and I'll do my best to wrangle out more chapters.

Please review, and feel free to point out any flaws in my story.


	5. Chapter 5: Meetings

**Chapter 5: Meetings**

Karma awoke instantaneously at the light pressure on his nose. His eyes snapped open, and his hand shot up to grip Sayama's outstretched finger. She jerked back in surprise, instinctively pulling away from his touch, and Karma's fist closed on air, tight enough to hurt.

Sayama looked startled, but no one else seemed to be concerned. Karma released the tension in his fingers after a moment, the whiteness in his knuckles fading. He yawned, stretching his arms above and behind his head, then straightened properly and looked around at the people surrounding his desk.

"So, what's up?" he asked, not fazed in the least by the attention focused on him.

Sayama crossed her legs and leaned in again, giving Karma a glimpse of her cleavage this time. The boys around her hooted as the girls sent them dirty glares.

"Akabane-kun, you shouldn't sleep in class, you know," she reprimanded, nudging the hinge of her glasses with two fingers.

Karma stared at her face rather blankly, eyebrows raised.

"I think you should get off my desk," he said bluntly.

A smatter of snickers circulated the classroom. Sayama flushed faintly but slid off the desk onto her feet, pouting. Karma leaned forward to rest his elbows on the surface, propping his chin in a hand. He plastered on the friendly smile he used for chatting and the others instantly began to talk to him, gathering in closer.

Manami watched on, completely forgotten by the girls. They crowded into the group around Karma, pushing Manami out of her seat. She quickly scooted out of the way, chair and all, and found herself pressed up against Iwatani's desk.

"Hi," she said to him, ducking her head sheepishly. "Sorry about this."

"Hello," he replied shyly, sullenly, turning his body away stiffly. "It's okay. It's not your fault, anyway."

He fidgeted nervously in the following silence. A loud cheer went up in the middle of the room. Manami glanced over her shoulder in Karma's general direction, since she couldn't see him through the dense wall of people attracted to his popularity. Everyone, it seemed, was interested in befriending him.

"Umm, you're... O-Okuda-san. Right?"

Manami turned back to look at Iwatani, giving him her attention.

"And you're... Uh..."

"Iwatani Kazuya."

"Ah, yeah... we'll be classmates for a year. Nice to meet you!"

Manami bowed deeply in her seat and Iwatani bowed back. There was a loud crack—they'd knocked their heads together. Simultaneously, they let out loud exclamations and drew back from the collision.

"Ouch! Sorry, sorry!"

"I-I'm so sorry!"

The students around them laughed as they rubbed their heads and apologized profusely, bowing again. "Jeez, what are you guys doing," someone called. "That was totally hilarious." Iwatani retreated at this, shrinking into his seat, and Manami flushed brightly though she laughed along with the others in good humor.

There was a long moment of silence between them until the attention faded, then Iwatani spoke up. Manami strained her ears to decipher his mumble.

"You said you went to Kunugigaoka Middle."

Manami cocked her head. "Um, yes, I did."

"You must be really smart then."

"Huh? Oh, no, not really."

"But you must've been," Iwatani insisted, almost desperately. "I mean, a school like Kunugigaoka..."

Manami chuckled lightly. "Well, I still have a ways to go. I'm nowhere near Karma-kun's level, except in chemistry... He graduated with the highest scores out of all the students, you know. Even beat Class A... Ah, but you won't know what I'm talking about from just that, huh."

"Oh... well. That's impressive."

Iwatani looked rather irritated. Manami noticed this and eyed him carefully for a brief minute but promptly shrugged her curiosity away.

* * *

Karma was surrounded by people. Lots of people. They swarmed around his desk, filling his ears with incessant chatter and invading his personal space.

"Yo!"

A tall boy with dyed blond hair pushed through to jump on Karma, hooking an arm around his shoulders.

"Is it true that you actually got full marks on the entrance exam? 'Cause wow, that's so awesome. I'm Koyanagi, by the way. You can call me Yana. So tell me how you did it!"

"I didn't, actually," Karma replied, resisting the urge to twist Koyanagi's arm behind his back. "I was off by five points."

Koyanagi whistled. "Hey, wow. I barely got in." He took a breath, about to say more, when a shout of laughter went up behind him. He twisted around to look at the commotion instead, dragging Karma with him by the neck. Karma glimpsed Manami clutching her head with another boy in the middle of the ruckus.

"Huh, it looks like she's making friends fine," he murmured. _That's good. Wow, but that kid sure looks wimpy._

"Oh, an acquaintance?" Koyanagi turned back, already bored of the event.

"Yeah, same middle school."

"Huh, cool. I've got some friends here from middle school too, but they're all in different classes." Koyanagi pouted sadly, but immediately brightened again. "Hey, you wanna go for karaoke with my buddies and me later? We were thinking of going out to celebrate."

"Celebrate what? It's only the first day," Karma interjected, making the people around them laugh.

"Yeah, but I wanna have fun. Come on, it's karaoke!"

Karma sighed. Koyanagi was annoying, but he seemed to be a useful friend to keep around.

"Alright, sure."

"Yes!" Koyanagi let Karma's neck go and slapped his back. "We'll see you after school, then."

He bounced away, leaving his new friend to deal with a mass of teenagers who, now that he was free, were ready to pounce on him. Karma cast one last glance at Manami as the horde assaulted him, clamoring to accompany him to karaoke.

She seemed to be doing perfectly fine. _Ah, so not fair__,_ he fleetingly thought before she vanished from his sight.

* * *

Thank you guys for reading, and sorry the update's so late! Reviews are welcome, including criticisms. I appreciate every word you leave for me.

By the way, I have some Karma/Manami fanart on tumblr where I'm parl-ie, under miscellaneous art. Please feel free to check it out if you're interested!


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